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Aestus Battlevalor
Lineage Aestus Battlevalor hails from Sin'dorei'and 'Quel'dorei lineage, born into a common family in Silvermoon and raised upon aspirations of becoming a Champion of The Light. '''A new family name only known in the last few hundred years, the Battlevalors have never held Noble Rank in either Sin'dorei or Quel'Dorei society. The origin of the Battlevalors being a militant family began with Aestarian Battlevalor, the first of the House, making them a very young, small and quite unknown name. The tradition was broken by '''Magister Callus Battlevalor, but continued by his first and only child. Whether or not there are others of the Battlevalor line is unknown. Aestian Battlevalor has not been seen or heard of in decades, his location and status unknown. House Motto: '"''Marcet Sine Adversario Virtus- Valor becomes feeble without an opponent” '''Appearance Standing at only five foot ten inches, Aestus stands at average height for Sin'dorei or human men. This makes him look either up or down at others, though the fact doesn't seem to bother him. His many years of work on and off the battlefield have given him a sturdy 'soldiers' build with broad shoulders, a deep chest and honed limbs. Skin that is deeply tanned through inheritance contrasts his hair that many believe it be gray or platinum blonde but is in fact white streaked in muted silver. Aestus has taken to wearing it long but kept up in a high topknot tail, the shorter strands falling down his shoulders and back, his longer bangs swept behind his ears. The start of a beard covers his chin and trails into stubble on his jaw and into his hair making him look older than he actually is. Most noticeable are his eyes which have remained the blue of the Quel'dorei that he has managed to keep due to fel avoidance during the recovery of the fallen Silvermoon. Scattered over his upper body are old and long healed wounds from his time during the Icecrown wars, and adorning his left bicep down to his elbow is tattooed the stylized star of the Argent Crusade. Most often Aestus prefers simple armor and simple weapons and is usually seen in more muted tones of blue and gray, his house colors. From Blood to Sun- Military History The Blood Knights Aestus never received any formal military training until he joined the Order of the Blood Knights, the military power within Silvermoon that was charged with the protection of Quel'thalas. At this point the ravages of the Third War had swept through Quel'thalas and the remaining Quel'Dorei, now renamed the Sin'dorei, lost their connection with the Light and had turned to other means to sustain themselves. Despite the stories of the Silver Hand, Uther the Lightbringer and other tales of the Champions of the Light that his grandfather had told him in his childhood, Aestus' own paladin training was different than he had expected. He entered into the order as an Initiate and over the many years learned to bend the Light to his will rather than channeling it through prayer and strength of will as his grandfather had. The leeching of energy from the trapped Naaru. M'uru, though necessary, sat ill with him throughout his training. When after the long stretch of years his trial to become a full fledged Blood Knight was upon him, he found himself unable to go through with the destruction necessary for him to fulfill the rights. The morals and ideals of what a paladin 'should be' that had been put into his mind by Aesterian wrestled with what the Blood Knights had become. His Blood Knight trial was only completed due to the help of two others that were determined to see him through, and distraught and repulsed at what he had been tasked to do he returned to Silvermoon. Though his trial was complete and he was now recognized as a full Blood Knight within the service of Silvermoon, he could not bring himself to continue in their service. Still registered as a Blood Knight, Aestus burned the tabard of his order and left Silvermoon. Perhaps from his Grandfather that hadn't been seen since his childhood, a letter of recommendation transferred him to the service of the Argent Dawn in the Plaguelands away from his home. This was the start of his lingering distaste for the Sin'dorei that would continue onward for many years. The Argent Dawn/The Argent Crusade While his years with the Blood Knights taught him the basic code and structures of what military life could be, Aestus was ill prepared for the exposure that his time within the Argent Dawn would give him. Life in the Eastern Plaguelands was nothing like the shaded and cool forests of the Eversong Woods where enemies were kept at bay or contained within patrolled boundaries. When he was not sleeping in shared barracks his time was spent on patrols, on drills and exercises that taught him the ways of killing the undead that heavily populated the lands in both the East and West Plaguelands. Despite being a 'stones throw' away from home he never revisited and the effects of no longer receiving power and energy from Naaru and fel alike began to display withdraws. Not unfamiliar with elves and their need for an outside source of magical energy the Dawn set him up to learn from the enchanters that worked in the Dawns service, teaching him how to not only break down but also enchant items with arcane powders and crystals that would give him enough energy to sustain him. There too did he learn the Prayers and Devotions often taught by the Church Of The Light in the far off human lands of Stormwind as well as military history, strategy and tactics. By the time the founding of the Argent Crusade had happened at the beginning of what would be known as The Icecrown Wars he had withdrawn entirely from fel energy, though not without a certain amount of sickness associated with all withdraw. When Highlord Tirion Fordring called for the Argent Dawn and The Silver Hand to combine forces into what would become the Argent Crusade, Aestus was not prepared for the changes that entering into the Icecrown Wars would happen to him. From the Plaguelands to the cold reaches of Northrend, Aestus moved with the third wave of recruits to help fill the Crusades forces in their push to contain the undead scourge of Northrend. Stationed first at the icy foothills of the Stormpeaks, he was moved to the main encampment that was built on the northern shores not too far from the Citadel and there received further training in order to help repel the advancing undead that littered the glacial plains. So too was this his first real exposure to the other races of Azeroth since the Crusade was a combination of both Horde and Alliances forces under a banner of neutrality. Aestus would go on to experience many victories, defeats and losses in his years during the Icecrown Wars. In this time too he learned to speak the Common language fluently, as well as learn how to read and write the Draenic language with proficiency. The years spent with the Crusade was his time of greatest dedication to the order and it's teachings, his rise in ranks escalated due to the severity of the War. When at last the Lich King had been slain and Bolvar had taken his place to control the limitless forces of the scourge, he had risen to the rank of Argent Champion. His Knighthood within the order would not come until many years later, and though he is officially listed as 'Knight' it has not been a rank or title he has used outside of the Argent Crusade and their Order. With the War at its ending, he stayed on to remain on control and cleanup of the remaining scourge that needed to be pushed back. Though his body and skills had been well honed to match the stress that the War had brought, the strength of his mind and his ability to cope with what the war had brought had reached its near breaking point. Under direct order Aestus was placed on Reserve and relocated to Hearthglen within the Western Plagueland to heal and help train new recruits for the inevitable aftermath of the Citadel Campaign. He spent more than a year there to heal and settle his mind before returning to active duty within the Crusade. The Crusade would take nearly ten years of his life, leading him from the Icecrown Wars to the lands of the Broken Shore. The losses of King Wrynn, Warchief Voljin and his own Highlord Tirion Fordring were crushing blows to both the Horde and the Alliance that would bring Aestus back together with the Blood Knights. The Blood Knights were not as he remembered them, however. Freed from fel magic with the renewal of the Sunwell and the Blessing of the Naaru A'dal, the many stories and rumors that had had heard (but chosen not to believe) about the new order of the Blood Knights was finally made real for him. Still a member and Knight of the Argent Crusade, Aestus contacted an Order within Silvermoon and moved from duty upon the Broken Shore back to his own native homeland within Eversong Woods. Though starting over for the third time as a new initiate, Aestus is determined to see first hand the changes in the Sin'dorei that had occured while he was gone. He hopes to do without changing the ethics and moral principles he has learned from his time among the races and cultures of Azeroth or his lessons within the Crusade. The Sunguard Only time will tell... Alignment and Personality On the list of Alignments, Aestus falls under Lawful Good. Aestus tries to be welcoming, warm, open minded and compassionate, though these virtues can be hard for him to follow to the letter in rare situations. Those in need in any capacity tend to attract his attention the most so long as their need does not hamper or harm the lives of others. Help is given freely (in most circumstances) simply because the help is needed rather than want of any recognition and/or reward. These 'boyscout' tendencies can often come across to others as too good to be real, something he has gone from being angry about to being amused about over the years. Not one to press upon a persons space or try to be needy for their attention, he extends the hand of friendship to those who wish to take it and professional courtesy to those who don't. He can also be stubborn and judgmental, especially when he experiences something that strongly goes against his sense of right and wrong. He is most offended when his integrity is called into question as he takes it as a serious oath never to lie...even if the truth can hurt. Despite how much public and social exposure he's had during his military career he can come off as aloof and solitary, preferring to spend his days either training to keep his skills honed or studying in a library. While he has the capability of making friends easily, deeper relationships can make him pause. Those he does make friends with tend to be 'friends for a lifetime' and will usually have their backs watched if they're in need. In the chain of command he's obedient but not above questioning an order that might clearly go against common sense or only serve as a vengeful or petty act. He prefers shielding his soldiers in arms and helping in the field however he can, though this can sometimes put him in more danger. Category:Characters Category:Sunspears